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Monday, June 26, 2017

Showtime. (finally)

My actual Windsor updates have been a bit sparse the last few months (well, all of my updates have been a bit sparse I guess), but things have been plugging along quite nicely.

Aside from being perhaps a tad too chubby, Winds looks great. He's feeling strong, supple and eager to work. We've been slowly building up fitness and increasing his jump load, typically bouncing around ten to twelve 2'6" jumps a few times a week.

His changes are light, he's loading his hind end beautifully at the base, and it feels like he's landing and carrying through better than has. Mind you, the jumps are tiny, so all this should be easier - but still...

It all means that I can finally justify a field trip to get off the farm a bit - So we are headed to Tbird (for one week only) to see how Winds' brain is off the property and see how he does opening up on a bigger stride and jumping around a tad.

Expectations are... non-existent, and I don't even know what exactly we'll be entering. Probably something at 2'6" or maaaaybe 2'9" but I'm not certain. the idea is to do a course (possibly two) for a couple days, then he'll just hack out easily over the weekend without any classes.

I think we're both ready for a change of scenery though, and I'm eager to see if he looks as good as he feels!

The slow winter and spring have been great for our skills though, and while I know at this point we'll take the rest of the season relatively easy - everything just feels a bit more polished and put together than it did this time last year.

Finally - I uh.... have been shopping a little and there may or may not be a few new possible "Brads."

New Kid

Windsor is a 2008 Selle Francais who we brought home in late 2015. Previously he was an approved stud and made the rounds (slowly) at 1.40m. With his chill brain and cute jump we're hoping he'll enjoy learning how to do the Hunters.

Windsor

Windsor

The Big Mare

Prairie is a 2005 Elite Hanoverian Mare (Londonderry/Weltmeyer). She's had two beautiful babies and early success in the Dressage Ring, followed by our foray into the Hunters. Now retired, she is back to making babies, first one scheduled for 2017!

Prairie

Gus!

Gus is a fan favorite. An older Trakhaner with DDFT injury that sidelined him from his H/J career, he is a noble gentleman who is worth his weight in gold. After some love, rehab and lots of kisses, Gus moved on to his forever home in MI where he has a beautiful farm to call home and a girl to shove him full of treats.

Pia

Pia is a 2003 Hungarian Warmblood who reintroduced me to horse ownership as an adult. We spent four years together exploring everything from Dressage, to Mountain Trail, to a false Wobbler's Diagnosis and beyond. She's a very clever mare and is currently learning how to event with her new mom.

Cliff Notes:

This blog started as a record of treatments, setbacks and general adventures with Pia, my little red mare back in 2010.

In late 2011, Prairie joined the team, with the idea of being the horse to get me back in the show ring. Initially I was pretty sure this would be the Dressage Ring, but both of us stumbled into Hunter Land and had a great time exploring a new discipline together, ultimately finding lots of success.

Gus showed up in early 2013. We adopted him hoping to find a suitable job and he has since found a forever home and girl of his on in MI!

Windsor is the current main man. a 2007 Selle Francais, he jumped around the 1.40m in Europe but was a little...slow. So now he's trying his hand at the Hunters and helping me learn how to move up.

About Me

These days I seem to spend most of my time working a little and playing a lot. I value my time with good friends spent in restaurants, bars, boutiques and everything else a decent sized city has to offer. I cherish knowing a city inside and out almost as much as I enjoy escaping it to someplace with no cars and hardly any people. Horses take up a chunk of time, as does coaching.. It's a good life.